Two defendants remain in Charlevoix County Jail suit

CHARLEVOIX - Two defendants now remain after four county officials were dropped from a whistleblower suit, filed by former jail administrator Babette Meggison, earlier this April.

Charlevoix County prosecuting attorney John Jarema and county commissioners Shirley Roloff, Chris Christensen and Joel Evans were voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff following depositions in the case filed in June 2007, which leaves Charlevoix County and its sheriff, George T. Lasater, then Meggison's supervisor, to do battle in the case now overseen by U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. "We have no authority over her as an employee. She is an employee of an elected official," Jarema said. "She was told to clean things and she didn't do them; naming us four was a frivolous lawsuit right from the beginning."

The county's legal representation intends to file a motion to dismiss the remaining suit in the coming weeks.

The complaint

According to the complaint filed by Meggison's attorney Debra A. Freid of Saginaw, Meggison, who was hired as a corrections officer in 1988 and named jail administrator in 1997, and an undisclosed number of her coworkers developed respiratory and other illnesses in 2001 because of poor air quality following renovations and construction of an addition to the jail.

Advertisement

"Staff and inmates continued to get sick and the complaints to plaintiff (Meggison) continued," the complaint stated. "Plaintiff sought help from sheriff George Lasater, but again, nothing was done which actually cleaned up the air and/or addressed the perceived health risks."

The issue then seems to have lay dormant for nearly four years until, in 2005, it was once again brought to the surface with an environmental testing report which determined that CO2 levels in the jail's control room were high.

The problem

A May 2006 report by Rhoades Engineering stated that the ductwork should be cleaned, and in June 2006, Jarema was directed by the board of commissioners to determine whether their insurance carrier would pay for the work. It was later discovered that improper use and maintenance of the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system by Babette Meggison's brother-in-law, Tom Meggison, then a jail maintenance worker, contributed to the air quality issues.

County documents reveal that fresh air vents were kept closed despite orders to keep them open, air exchange grills were not cleaned and filters and belts were improperly fastened.

The controversy

The issue climaxed when, at the February 2007 board of commissioners meeting, Babette Meggison and several coworkers spoke out about the jail's HVAC system, going so far as to say she felt there might be a cover-up.

The commissioners, four of whom had been on the job for less than two months when the accusation of a cover-up was levied, voted unanimously to have two companies perform a full clean-up of the HVAC system.

The whistleblower

The bulk of Meggison's suit relies on her claim that she was subsequently mistreated by her bosses because she came forward with the jail air quality concerns.

In addition to emotional distress, mental anguish and ill-effects to her physical health, she claims to have suffered injury to her feelings, loss of professional esteem and reputation, humiliation, embarrassment and loss of income.

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1980 was designed to protect employees who report violations or suspected violations of law or who participate in hearings, investigations, inquiries or court actions.

Employers may be in violation if they are found, "Discharging, threatening, or otherwise discriminating against employee reporting violation of law, regulation, or rule."

"It was a collective effort to try to deal with it including myself, Tom Meggison, we had interest from some of the county board of commissioners, specifically (Connie) Saltonstall and it included her (Babette Meggison)," Lasater said. "Everyone I've talked to say it's (HVAC system) excellent and I've had no complaints thanks to the efforts of John Jarema and the county board of commissioners."

Lasater said when he was first notified of the issue he asked the testing agency if his employees were in harm's way.

"They said definitely not," he said. "There was a realignment of assignments due to the fact that some of the required preventative maintenance was not being taken care of."

Lasater said the accusations that he refused to respond to Meggison's pleas for help and that jail staff treated her poorly are "absolutely false."

Jarema said Meggison never made a complaint, nor was she about to make a complaint about a perceived violation of law, rule or regulation per the Whistleblower Protection Act.